A Sailor's Mouth, A Serpent's Tongue
by Uptown Cosplay
Summary: Captain Levi runs a tight ship and leads a mercenary lifestyle. When a job casts him out to sea to do the impossible, he nets the biggest catch of his career that changes his life forever. Levi's moral compass is tested as he is forced to face the consequences of breaking the golden rule: Never get emotionally attached to your cargo. (Mermaid AU. Rated M for language/adult themes.)
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

* * *

On that night, most of them slept. Whether inside caves, under rocks, or amidst forests, they all had places where they felt safe. Safety was relative, of course, but "safe enough" was all one could hope for. It wasn't easy to hide in the daylight, but at least you had a chance of seeing something coming before anything saw you. At night you couldn't see a thing, but at least you could hide and have a decent chance of being able to sleep and believe you wouldn't wake up in something's mouth.

That night, most of them slept, but not all.

A young boy lie awake, staring up into the dark, open expanse above him. It was one of those nights where he knew sleep wasn't coming. Unlike many of the others, relative safety wasn't enough—not since his only safety had been taken from him.

"Can't sleep?"

He sat up quickly at the touch on his shoulder. His friend watched him, concerned. She was like a sister to him, but he still didn't appreciate the company. He knew what she was thinking.

"No," he answered. "You don't have to keep asking. You know I can't sleep, so stop worrying about it and sleep for the both of us or something." He allowed himself to relax slightly but shrugged her hand away, lying back down where she'd found him.

She didn't argue; it was true that she wasn't surprised to find him wide awake, but that didn't stop her from wishing she could make sleep come more easily for him. She knew what he was thinking about, too, but somehow that never seemed to provide her with any way of making anything better. She felt useless just watching him and not saying nor doing anything about it.

"Do you think they're all the same?"

Questions like this had been asked a thousand times. It wasn't anything novel, but somehow it was a question that continued to make its rounds between everyone who was anyone. Answers never came, however; how could they when no one lived to deliver them?

"How should I know?" He turned his head away to hide the grimace on his face. "All I know is that so far they haven't done anything to prove otherwise, and that's proof enough for me."

"You don't ever wonder what they're _really_ like? You've never wondered what their reasons are for—?"

"Like hell I have!" His outburst caused her to recoil slightly and he looked away again, ashamed. "I don't care what they're like. They destroy everything in their path. They kill everything they touch. They're monsters, and this world would be better off if they were all dead."

There wasn't anything she could say. She couldn't argue with him when she had no proof that he was wrong. The truth was that he was probably right; nothing good ever came of their existence.

This world would be better off if humans just disappeared.


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

* * *

"Slow her down! This is as good a spot as any!"

There was a low rumble as the boat slowed to a stop on the gently rolling waves of the sea below. Now bobbing in near-silence in the middle of nowhere, the crew had an opportunity to finally enjoy the quiet sloshing of the water against the sides of the ship and the occasional call of a seagull overhead.

Out on the bow, the captain leaned against the rails and let out an irritated huff. They had been sailing across this god-forsaken ocean for what felt like weeks, and so far they had nothing to show for it. Every place they had stopped had sent them moving on to the next one just as empty-handed as when they had arrived. Sure, they had hauled up a hell of a lot of fish, but they weren't looking for just any old fish.

"Yoo-hoo, earth to Levi?"

Captain Levi Ackerman glowered over his shoulder at his field officer, who appeared to have been trying to get his attention for quite some time. "What, Hanji?" he drawled, turning to face her with his arms folded.

They gestured out to the empty ocean. "Looks like a good spot, huh?" they asked brightly as they adjusted their glasses on their nose, causing the sun to gleam off of them.

Levi squinted and simply raised an eyebrow. "It looks like a fuckton of water. What makes you think this is any better than 20 miles back? Looks just as bad to me, if not worse."

Hanji grinned back at him. "Gut instinct! You know my hunches never fail. Trust me, my fishy senses are tingling!"

Levi just rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. You definitely didn't say the exact same thing last time we stopped. Just go do your thing." He strode past them brusquely. "I'm going up to watch from above. Can't stand being around all this bird shit."

Making his way lazily up the steps to a higher deck, Levi pushed his way into the bridge, leaving the door ajar to let the distant voices seep in. He stopped to gaze out one of the large windows, watching as Hanji barked excitedly at the crew, sometimes grabbing things out of their hands if they weren't moving fast enough for their liking. He couldn't figure out how they could still act so excited after all the failures they had had. Their optimism would be their undoing.

The navigations officer, Mike Zacharius, spun in his chair slowly to peer out the windows, as well. "What do you reckon our chances are?" he asked dully. He sounded about as positive as Levi felt.

"Zero. Zilch. Nada. Squat. If all that water out there was dirt, we'd have the same chances. We should have just turned back. They're not out there. We're wasting our time."

Mike made a grunt in agreement. The two men watched as the enormous nets on either side of the ship were dropped. Levi took a seat in his chair and sighed. This entire mission was completely pointless; he could be back home on the mainland right now drinking tea and relaxing on a sofa in a room that wasn't constantly swaying under his feet, but instead he was stuck out here looking for something that was so rare it may as well not exist at all. It was a fruitless endeavor.

Levi had started to doze off in his chair after about an hour when he was jolted awake by Mike's voice. "Uh, Captain? You might want to see this."

 _This had better be worth it_. Levi stood up and crossed to where Mike sat in front of the sonar. He was pointing at the screen, where a slightly sporadic beeping was issuing from. A small blip was moving around the ship. "The hell is that?" Levi wondered aloud.

Mike shrugged, looking just as confused. "Just popped up on the radar a second ago. I can't tell exactly what it is, of course, but judging from the size I'd say it could be a dolphin, maybe. It's fast though, that much I can say."

Levi opened his mouth to ask how common it was for dolphins to orbit a ship like a vulture circling a carcass when he heard distant shouts from the deck below. A second later Hanji's voice sounded from his belt. "Hey, anybody wanna tell me what's swimming around down here? You see anything on your end?"

Levi held his radio up to his mouth. "Yeah, we see it. Mike says it's probably a dolphin. It's the size of one, anyway."

"Dolphin?" Hanji sounded incredulous. "I highly doubt a dolphin would act like this, let alone all by itself. It keeps passing next to us and I can't get a good look at—HOLY SHIT!"'

Levi winced and held the radio further away from his face. "The _fuck_ , Four-Eyes? Don't do that! What's going on out there?"

"Levi, they're flipping out out there," Mike pointed out, standing up from his chair to get a better look out the window. "I think something's wrong. Should someone check on them, or…?"

"I'll go." Levi swept out through the door and started his way down. Out here, the panicked voices were much clearer and he could see members of the crew scurrying every which way. A few of them dashed in front of him and nearly collided with him as they rushed past. They were carrying tranquilizer rifles.

"What the fuck, Hanji?" Levi demanded when he found them amidst the chaos. They were leaning so far over one of the rails that he worried they might fall. "Explain all this goddamn racket! What's—?"

"WE FOUND ONE!" they screamed hysterically, causing Levi to take a step back. Hanji whipped past him and screeched across the ship at a group at the opposite railing. "Get ready, it's coming around! DO—NOT—LET—IT—GET—AWAY!"

Levi desperately turned this way and that, struggling to make sense of what was happening. Hanji scrambled to the other side where a group of men stood ready with tranquilizers, pointing them down into the ocean below. "Ready!" they hollered as they skidded to a halt and caught the rails for support. "There it is! Aim! Hold it… _Hold it…_ FIRE! NOW!"

Levi reached Hanji's side just in time to see several tranquilizer darts pierce the water's surface and plummet towards a dark shape swimming just alongside the ship. The silhouette jerked and darted forward so fast that his eyes almost couldn't keep up. In the moment that he saw it, he could see that Hanji had been right about one thing: that was no dolphin.

"Did it hit? DID ANYTHING HIT IT?" Hanji bellowed. "Portside, get ready with the nets! It's cutting across underneath!"

They tore across the ship once more to the other side again, Levi jogging after them. His heart was pumping hard as his brain slowly began to piece together what was happening. He refused to believe it if he couldn't see it. The chances were so small, so slim—there was no way they had gotten this lucky. It was borderline impossible.

"There! FIRE!"

Three more men shot nets over the side of the ship at Hanji's command. Levi gripped the railing and stared down into the dark sea, holding his breath. The nets descended down just as the dark shape came into view from under the ship, and he was positive that at least one net connected with its target. The surface of the water erupted in bubbles and violent splashing as the creature below twisted and thrashed. It started to fade as if sinking.

"No no no no no no no!" Hanji practically punched the man to her right in the face as they whipped around. "Drop the hook lines! Pull that thing up or I will murder this entire crew myself! DO IT NOW!"

The men at the edge switched out with other members of the crew that hauled the heavy wire lines with them. In several not-so-fluid motions, the pronged lines were locked, loaded, and sent flying straight down into the water. Levi watched the lines unwind as they descended deeper and deeper, until…

The wires stopped whipping off their holders as the ends of them undoubtedly connected with something below. Hanji gave a triumphant howl. "YES! Pull it up! Put your backs into it!"

What seemed like the entire ship's crew lined up and grabbed hold of the lines in a chain of bodies. Others gripped the cranks at each line's holder, tugging it around and around to rewind the wires. Levi pushed his way into the crowd at one of the lines, grabbed hold of the wire, and tugged on it with all his might. Slowly but surely, the wires were dragged up and over the side of the ship as every free hand yanked and pulled on the lines.

"Jesus, this thing is a fighter!" Hanji laughed from the front of one of the lines, their hands slipping on the wet wire as they struggled to do their part in hauling it back onto the deck. "But it's not—going—to win—against—me!"

Finally, after several minutes of grunting and gasping and cursing, something broke the water's surface and rose steadily until they could see the edge of the net peeking over the railing. Violent thudding noises reverberated in their eardrums as whatever was caught in the net trashed against the ship's side. There was a loud THUD as the net and its contents finally rolled over the railing and hit the deck unceremoniously. The crew let go of the slick wires, rubbing their raw hands and backing away from the net as it continued to jerk on the ground. Levi fought his way through the crowd until he broke out into the clearing, and he felt his jaw drop at the sight.

A mermaid, tangled in not one but two nets, was writhing on the floor in a cloudy puddle of seawater and blood. One of the wire grappling hooks was embedded in the back of its bare shoulder, gushing blood all down its body. A mop of very short, brown hair was plastered to its head, weighed down and darkened by water. Its skin was lightly tanned but looked paler against its dark scales.

Its tail, glistening a dark green pounded the ground as it fought against the ropes and wire. Levi had always heard that mermaid tales resembled fish or scaly dolphins, but that was not what he was seeing. Powerful and long, nearly three times the length of the rest of its body, it twisted in serpentine ways a fish never could. Scaly but eel-like, more like a sea serpent than anything else, it was covered in long fins along its sides and on its gracefully tapered tip.

One of its hands reached around and clawed at the hook that was stuck in its shoulder, and their ears were accosted with a horrific sound.

It screamed, long and haunting. The voice was young, rich, but guttural, as if choking on something wet in its throat. Its whole body shook and its tail twisted and jerked wildly, causing the entire crew surrounding it to step back out of harm's way. Levi felt a cold shiver travel down his spine as he watched the creature convulse in pain.

"Don't get close!" Hanji yelled over the noise. "The tranquilizers will take effect in a matter of minutes. Just wait it out."

The screaming cracked and faltered, and the creature thrashed as its hands grasped at the smooth floor of the deck, webbed fingers clenching into fists. Its body was beginning to move less and less, each movement appearing to take more and more effort. The enormous fins at the end of its long tail slapped the ground, then slid across it, and then simply fluttered weakly like a butterfly's wings. Its body moved slowly now, squirming feebly against the floor as if trying to swim away. It was pathetic.

Hanji slowly crept forward. "That's it, let those sedatives do their thing. Not so feisty now, are we? You just stay there nice and still, and I'll get this big bad hook outta you, yeah?" Hanji closed their fingers around the hook's hilt and, in one fluid motion, twisted and pulled it out, freeing it from the mermaid's flesh.

Flooded by adrenaline from the pain, the creature snarled and whipped its tail, colliding with the back of Hanji's legs and knocking them flat on the floor. The creature rolled away from her onto its side, clutching at the open wound, and looked up into the faces of its captors for the first time.

Large, bright green eyes met Levi's gray ones with a mixture of fear and rage. Lying on its side now and more exposed, Levi realized with a small jolt that this was no mermaid—this was a mer _man_. Bare chested and broad-shouldered with a firm waist that tapered into narrow hips that blended into its green scales, this creature was very young but unmistakably male.

"Whoooaaa!" Hanji scrambled to their feet, seemingly unhurt by their tumble earlier, and stared shamelessly at the young man from the sea. "He's gorgeous! Look at that coloration! He's a beauty!"

Levi was looking, all right, but he was having trouble defining the feelings that were whirling around inside him. The merman's flashing green eyes were flicking between all the faces that surrounded it, but its eyelids were fluttering with exhaustion. He could see the slits of gills on the sides of its neck just below the corners of its jawline that were quivering in the open air. Its chest was heaving with very labored breathing, as drops of saltwater and blood trickled down its body and tail. Levi could see one of the tranquilizer darts poking out from between its scales near its hip, and Levi thought he could see it shaking. Was it fear? Pain? Chills?

"Hanji," Levi hissed at them from his place at the edge of the crowd. "What are we doing? What do we do with it?"

Hanji snapped out of their funk and found Levi with their wild gaze. "'Do with it'?" they echoed. "I mean, I personally would love to just keep it forever and study it. Do you know how much we could learn from this? He's young, healthy, everything you could ever want! We could figure out so much, and—"

"Weren't we supposed to take it back and sell it?"

Both Levi and Hanji turned to face Mike. He had come down from the bridge and now stood at the front of the crowd, watching the merman with an unreadable expression. "You know how much people would pay for a set of scales like those? Even if you cast aside the fact that we'd all be filthy rich, we don't exactly have much of a choice. Erwin's orders, weren't they?"

Levi's brows furrowed and Hanji swallowed audibly. Erwin Smith may not be with them now, but as Captain Levi's boss, he was a man to be feared. He gave orders to Levi, who then in turn gave those orders to his crew. Disobey Erwin, and you were in big trouble no matter how important you were.

But Hanji also presented a valid point. Finding a mermaid, let alone catching one, was almost unheard of, and turning right around and selling it for slaughter to have a piece of it stuck up on some rich man's wall seemed completely counterintuitive. All anyone knew about merpeople was what you heard on the street and what you decided to believe from unverified journals written by people you didn't care about. The potential to learn more about the species was extremely tempting, even to Levi.

"I'm well aware of what Erwin's orders were, Mike," Levi finally retorted. He turned away. "Get it into the tank. We're taking it back."

There was silence. "Well, okay," Hanji spluttered, "but are we taking it back to sell it or—?"

"Don't make me repeat myself. Just get it down there. It's gonna shrivel up out here."

The crew started working, many running across the deck to climb down into the ship to prepare one of the tanks while others carefully shuffled closer to the merman. They cautiously grabbed hold of the nets and hoisted the creature up to carry it. Levi watched them work in silence, ignoring the prying eyes of both Mike and Hanji. He didn't feel like being on either end of a lecture.

The merman was weakly squirming in its binds, green eyes dazed, making the crewmen's job only slightly more difficult as they hauled it slowly out of sight, descending lower into the heart of the ship. A watery trail of blood was left on the deck in its wake. Levi grimaced at the mess. "Get somebody to clean that up," he growled, stepping over the puddles carefully.

Mike made to follow. "Levi, what—?"

"That's _Captain_ Levi."

He swallowed. "Captain, what are we doing? What's the plan?"

Levi stopped and turned to stare his navigator down. "Regardless, we're keeping it alive, aren't we? If we're selling it, I doubt any buyers are going to pay that pretty price you mentioned if it's dead. It's 'coloration' might get dull or whatever the fuck."

It looked like Mike wasn't sure how to respond, so Hanji piped up instead. "Yes, that's true, but you know everyone's going to want a decision eventually, Levi. Er, _Captain_ Levi."

"Who says I haven't decided?"

"Um, the fact that you won't tell anyone?"

They stopped at the glare Levi threw them over his shoulder. He was tired of all the questions. "Drop it, Hanji. We'll talk later when I feel like it."

He watched from the bridge as several crew members scrubbed at the deck below with mops, washing away the blood until there was no evidence of their catch left. Now that they had found what many would call the greatest trophy of any seafarer's dreams, they could make the journey back to the mainland and reap the rewards they had all been waiting for. It would be a long trip, but that meant plenty of time to decide how best to proceed.

The captain swallowed the last sip of his coffee and shivered. He could still hear the haunting screams ringing in his ears.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

* * *

"I don't know what to!"

Hanji's forehead hit the table with a loud THUD, causing Levi's teacup to rattle. They had been ranting at him for the past twenty minutes and didn't seem to care that Levi had no advice whatsoever.

"I've tried everything! I've dumped everything I can think of into that tank and he won't eat a damn thing! Not one bite! I just don't get it!"

Levi picked up his mug to save it from harm as Hanji moaned into their arms. "Like I said, I don't know what you expect me to do about it. That thing is _your_ job, not mine. You keep it alive with your 'expertise' and I keep this ship running with mine."

Another groan was all he got in response. "It's like he's trying to starve himself or something," they finally said, peering up at him from behind their glasses. "It goes against basic survival instincts. I've offered him every kind of fish and plant from this region and then some, but he won't touch a single thing. It's been three days." They chewed their lip anxiously. "If he doesn't eat something soon, he's going to start going downhill fast. If you want him healthy—if you want him _alive,_ Levi—then he needs to _eat._ "

"What do you want, Hanji?" Levi set his mug down pointedly, staring his field officer down. "What do you want me to do, go down there and tell it to eat its peas and suck it up? This is not my problem."

"If you want this voyage to have been for something, then it _is_ your problem!" Hanji finally sat up and leaned uncomfortably far across the table into Levi's very wide personal space bubble. "I'd appreciate it if you showed a little concern for what I'm trying to do here! What do you think would happen if after all the work everyone's put in, that 'thing' down there just flips over and dies? I don't think your crew would be too pleased."

A vein above Levi's eye twitched. Finally, through gritted teeth, "You have yet to tell me what you actually want me to do about it."

The corners of Hanji's mouth twisted into a satisfied smirk. "I have no fuckin' idea what you're going to do about it."

"Then what—?"

"I'll take you down there." They stood up and bounced towards the door, all signs of their exhaustion gone. Now they just looked smug. "You haven't seen him out of the nets yet, have you? He's _goooorgeous_."

Levi almost didn't get up; he considered just staying in his chair and showcasing his defiance like a child, but he found himself scooting his chair back and leaving his mug on the table to follow Hanji out of the dining hall. He maintained a stubbornly unenthusiastic frown as he began winding through the corridors, descending stairs and ladders until they were in the deepest bowels of the ship. The air was warm and a bit stuffy; he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over his arm as he walked.

"Through here." Hanji grunted as they twisted open the airlock on the door with some difficulty. They pulled it open and stepped through into the dark room beyond, leaving Levi with little choice but to follow. He had barely crossed the threshold and started to wonder how Hanji expected him to see a damn thing in this darkness when they flipped a switched somewhere along the wall. Soft, blue lights flickered to life all around the room and illuminated an enormous tank that was anchored to the floor, sealed at the top and butted up against a large metal stepladder that led up one side to the lid.

Curled at the bottom of the tank was the merman. It had balled itself up so tightly that all Levi could see was part of its head, its back, and its scaly hips before its tail was tucked away and out of sight against its body. It was lying on its side on the bottom of the tank with its arms wrapped around its bent tail as if hugging its knees. As Levi followed Hanji closer, he could make out each wave in its rounded spine. Levi's first thought was that it looked like a sulking teenager.

"Is it asleep?" Levi asked, his voice slightly lower than normal.

"Oh no," Hanji shook their head knowingly. "He's just ignoring us. He used to get spooked every time we turned on the lights and he'd try and attack us through the walls, but ever since yesterday he's started pretending we're not here."

"Who else has been down here? Besides you, obviously."

"Not many. Pretty much just me and my team, and all they do is put the food in."

Levi looked back at the balled up creature. He could still easily make out the angry red wound on one of its shoulders. "That gash still looks pretty bad," he pointed out evenly, "but I guess there's not much you can do about it at this point?"

Hanji frowned. "Nope, especially not when he tries to rip us apart every time we get close. I tried to get to it when we first brought him down here before the sedatives wore off, but his body filtered them out like they were nothing. By the time he was safely in the tank, he was back to trying to break the thing apart."

"It certainly doesn't seem that feisty right now." Levi furrowed his brow at the merman, expecting it to so something—anything—but it continued to lie at the bottom of its tank, completely motionless apart from the ends of its fins rippling slightly in the water.

"Well, no," Hanji answered tersely, "but I've got my theories. Honestly he's probably just trying to preserve energy. He hasn't eaten anything in three days, and after all the fuss he kicked up he must be pretty exhausted." They stared at the creature with worry. "He's running on fumes, the poor thing."

"Why isn't there any food in the tank then?" Levi gestured to the tank which, apart from the merman itself, was completely empty. "It's not gonna eat if there's nothing in there."

"There _was_ food, but we have to keep cleaning it out or it starts mucking up the water. I just wish he would eat!" Hanji stepped up to the side of the tank and stared solemnly at the huddled form within. "Why won't you eat?"

Levi joined Hanji at the tank wall. "Put food back in," he said. "I want to see what it does."

"He doesn't do anything. That's the point."

"Do it anyway."

Hanji grumbled something about somebody never listening to her as they stomped away from him to one of the giant coolers on one side of the room. They returned to Levi holding two large fish in one hand by their tails, glaring at him sourly. "Here is the _food_." They began climbing the ladder on one side towards the top. "I'm now going to put the _food_ in the _tank_."

Levi sighed. "Hanji…"

"Now observe!" They cranked the lid back to leave a space, their voice dripping in satire. "I am now going to _drop_ the food—"

"Hanji."

"—into the tank, and he's _not_ going to eat!"

"Hanji, will you cut it out?"

They dropped the fish into the water and resealed the top. Levi watched the fish float down towards the floor, and switched his attention to the merman. It didn't move an inch.

"See?" Hanji hopped down from the ladder and folded their arms. "Nothing. Each and every time, nothing. It's driving me nuts!"

It was Levi's turn to fold his arms as he contemplated the creature before him. How were you supposed to convince a creature of unknown intelligence to feed itself when there was a good chance it would read everything you said or did as something dangerous?

You yell at it, of course.

"Hey!" Levi's hand thumped against the glass as he leaned on it to further project his voice through the wall.

"Levi—!"

"You want to starve to death? Be my guest. But if you want to live to see anything outside this box, eat the fucking fish!"

There was a resounding BANG as a powerful green tail unfurled and hit the tank wall right in front of Levi's face. He lurched back and his heart jumped up into his throat. The merman's tail slowly returned to its previous position as if it hadn't nearly broken Levi's nose, and Levi's mouth hung open slightly in offended shock.

"Jesus, that scared the hell out of me! You okay?" Hanji looked just as surprised as he was.

Levi let out a steadying breath. "Wow," he finally said, swallowing his pounding heart back into its place. "You've got a pretty shitty attitude."

Suddenly it was moving again. With a flick of its fins, the merman rolled over in the water and slowly twisted upright to face its jailers. Its green eyes were not just full of hatred anymore. There was a defiance now that had replaced the fear that had been there the first time their eyes met. Whether it understood anything Levi had said was unclear, but the challenge in its face was very much human.

"You think you're winning?" Levi retorted, refusing to show how unsettled he felt. "You can be a brat as long as you like, but you're not going to feel much like a winner when you start dying, smartass."

The merman turned his head to the side and reached out with a webbed hand to snatch one of the floating fish. It beat its tail and drifted right up to the tank wall directly in front of Levi, staring at him directly eye to eye. It took the fish in both hands, and lifted it between both their faces as if going to bite into it.

But Levi felt his own eyes widen when the creature dug in its claws and ripped the fish in half. Blood and entrails immediately clouded the water between them, slowly twisting and diffusing throughout the tank. He could make out the creature's face through it all, and he saw it baring its fangs at him in a snarl right before ripping a chunk of fish off with its teeth and promptly spitting it out in his face.

This was not some fear reaction or even a temper tantrum. This was a threat.

 _Make me._

Levi could imagine the words so clearly in his mind that it scared him. Any doubts he'd had about the intelligence of this creature—this _monster_ —were gone. That display could not have been any clearer if it had shouted it at him in perfect speech. It seemed it would rather die than accept anyone's charity. This wasn't about survival instincts. This was about pride.

"All right, then." Levi put his nose right up to the glass as he returned the merman's stare. "Challenge accepted. And also…" He lifted a hand and tucked away all his fingers except one. "Fuck you, too."


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

* * *

On the fifth day, Levi climbed down into the heart of the ship fully expecting to wage a fierce battle of wills. He had spent far too much of his time and energy to allow this trip to be for nothing, and he was prepared to fight for it. And if this thing wanted a fight, he'd give it one.

When he flicked the lights on and approached the tank, he didn't bother stepping quietly or keeping his voice low. He stopped a few feet from the glass, squared his stance, and crossed his arms. "Oi," he barked. "You ready to be smart yet or are you still going to starve?"

The beast inside the tank was curled up at the bottom of its prison again, only this time it had stuffed itself into one of the corners furthest away from him. Levi would have assumed it was asleep if it hadn't barely opened its eyes to look at him at the sound of his voice. The green luster of its scales seemed duller and less reflective, and its skin looked paler and even more ghostly in the blue lights.

Levi bit his bottom lip. If it didn't eat something today, he was almost positive they would find it dead by morning. He turned and marched across the room to the coolers along the wall and pulled out a fish, grimacing at the smell and holding it outstretched as if it were poisonous. He carried it to the ladder and climbed up to the top of the tank. He pushed the top cover back to leave a small opening.

"Buck up and feed yourself. You do eat fish right, or is Hanji crazy and you think that's cannibalism or something?"

He dropped the fish into the water and watched from above as it drifted down, down all the way to the bottom before bobbing back up. The creature turned its head slightly against the floor to watch its progress with him, but made no move to retrieve it. It closed its eyes again and looked away.

Levi gritted his teeth and yanked the cover closed again. "Jesus Christ, do I have to do everything for you?" He clambered back down the ladder and marched out of the room, not bothering to turn the lights off. He wouldn't be gone long.

"Levi? What's wrong?" Hanji looked up from some papers they were reading as Levi strode past them. "You look like you're about to kill someone. Should I be worried? 'Cause I'm a little worried."

"I'm going in there."

They stood up and watched him blow past them. "What? What do you mean, you're going in? In where?"

"That thing's going to eat if I have to stuff a fish down its throat. I am _not_ going back home with a dead mermaid, and I'll be damned if I don't exhaust every single fucking option before we get to that point."

"You can't go in there!" Levi whipped around when Hanji's hand gripped his arm to stop him. "Even with the protective wetsuits, he could kill you in seconds! He'll rip you apart, Levi. You want that fish from the other day to be you?"

The captain ripped his arm from their grasp and kept walking. "I'm not going to die. That thing's exhausted and starving. Maybe it could have torn me to shreds before, but I highly doubt that's the case as of now."

"That's too big a risk!"

"I'll decide what risk is too big. Now if it makes you feel better, go get me a rebreather. I'd like to change."

Levi left Hanji in shock as he went into the other room and shut the door behind him. Now alone in the large locker rooms where the thick, protective wetsuits were kept, he stripped down and tugged his own personal suit on after a bit of a struggle. The form-fitting suits were tough to put on normally, but trying to get them on in a rush proved nearly impossible. When he emerged, Hanji was there waiting for him, a rebreather in one hand.

"You could have gone down to wait for me with your precious specimen if you wanted to watch that badly," he griped. He began retracing his steps, allowing Hanji to job alongside him on the way down.

They let out an irritated huff as they tailed him. "I figured I'd use the time walking with you to try and convince you that this is a stupid idea."

"Knock yourself out. I've made up my mind."

And sure enough, all of Hanji's warnings fell on deaf ears. They reasoned and rationalized at him all the way back down to the tank, but they got nothing in response. The two of them stood facing the tank once again, and the merman hadn't even bothered opening his eyes this time.

Levi wordlessly grabbed the rebreather from Hanji's hands and gripped the handrails of the ladder, hoisting himself up. "Now stay down here and don't get in my way. If the worst happens and it turns out this thing's been playing dead and shreds me anyway, have fun telling the others that I've been filleted by a fish."

Hanji watched him ascend, conflicted. "You're a real asshole, you know that?"

"It's part of my charming personality."

Cranking the tank cover back and leaving a much larger opening this time, Levi swung his legs over the edge and slowly lowered himself into the water. Glancing down, he saw the merman's eyes had opened, and it was watching him from below now. It hadn't moved from its spot, but it was clearly sizing him up. Trying to ignore his racing heartbeat, Levi took a deep breath, fastened his lips around the rebreather, and let go.

He walked his hands along the glass to flip himself upside down so he could kick off the wall and swim downwards. He hugged the wall farthest from the creature, watching it just as intently as it was watching him. He could see it bracing its webbed hands against the floor as if preparing to either push away from him or propel itself to attack—he couldn't tell which.

The fish he had dropped in earlier was still floating around, untouched. Slowly and cautiously, he swam to it and took hold of it, still keeping one eye on the tank's other occupant. Levi faced the creature and, holding the fish outstretched in one hand, slowly swam forward inch by inch.

At first the creature did nothing, but after Levi had covered a couple feet of distance, it bared its teeth and hissed at him, a stream of tiny bubbles escaping from between its fangs. Levi hesitated; it was a clear warning that needed no explanation. To heed it for his own safety or ignore it for its own good?

After treading water for several seconds, he saw the creature's lips relax again and it fell silent again. After another second, Levi drifted forward again. The merman's eyes flashed and it snarled, the sound reaching his ears clearly despite being underwater. It pushed against the floor and scooted itself backwards, further cornering itself on the tank floor. Was it too weak to swim?

The captain swam forward yet again, conscious of Hanji watching him from outside but refusing to take his eyes off the other being. Its eyes were wide now, unsure how to react to Levi's continued advancement. The tip of its tail twitched and thrashed briefly, causing Levi to flinch in spite of himself. He was not anxious to find out what it felt like to have the muscular green tail connect with any part of him.

 _Come on,_ Levi thought as he forced himself to swim forward again. _You know you can't keep going like this. Take the fish and eat it, goddamn it!_

It was as if Levi crossed some invisible line in the water, for as soon as he moved another inch forward, the creature sprang into action. Beating its tail against the tank wall and pushing off of the floor, it shot straight for him. Its clawed fingers grabbed his arms and it pushed him hard into the tank wall and Levi coughed into the rebreather as the air was knocked out of him. He fought against it, and he was able to just keep the beast's snapping teeth inches from his face. If it had been in its full health, Levi wondered if he would have been able to match its strength at all.

Squirming and struggling in the creature's grasp and feeling the tips of its claws digging into him through the suit's fabric, he managed to bring his knees up between them and kick the creature somewhere in the stomach. Its grasp loosened, and he pried its hands off and kept hold of its wrists. He twisted sideways and flipped their positions, slamming the creature into the wall instead. He kicked the water to counteract the thrashing of its tail underneath. He spotted the fish floating nearby out of the corner of his eye, and without thinking he let go of one of the merman's wrists long enough to reach out, grab the fish, and thrust it under the beast's nose.

The merman's expression changed to one of incomprehension and it stopped thrashing. The back of its head thumped lightly against the glass as it cringed away from the fish being shoved in its face, its nose wrinkling slightly. Its newly freed hand made to swat the fish away, but Levi pushed the fish's head against the creature's lips, which twisted in something like a grimace.

 _Eat it,_ Levi screamed in his head. _Eat the fucking fish._

The merman couldn't back up anymore without somehow melting through the tank wall, so it was now staring at Levi over the top of the fish with a befuddled expression bordering on umbrage. Both of their chests heaving from the struggle, the two men stared at each other. Then the creature did something very small, very simple, that took Levi completely by surprise.

It shook its head. Moving side to side in a clear gesture of "no", it glared at him in defiance and made to swat the fish away again. Levi trapped its arm against the glass with his elbow and pressed the fish to its mouth once more. _Why not?_ Levi couldn't figure out why it was fighting him so damn hard on this. _Why won't you eat?_

The merman made face as if spitting the fish away from its mouth, causing a large bubble to rise up between them. It wasn't struggling against his hold anymore, but it seemed determined to avoid eating the food at all costs. It pulled its arm out from beneath Levi's elbow without much difficulty and raised its hand to the fish yet again, but this time it didn't try to bat it to the side. It put its palm between its own lips and that of the fish, and instead pushed the fish towards Levi.

Levi blinked, confused. _I'm not taking it back,_ he thought irritably. He leaned away from it and attempted to push it back the other way, but the merman shook its head again stubbornly. It pushed the fish toward Levi again. It made a gesture as if grasping at its own throat and bared its teeth. Completely perplexed, Levi shoved the fish back only to have the favor repaid. Every time Levi tried to give it back, the creature shook its head and returned the gesture, until the two of them found themselves in a childish game of reverse tug-of-war. What did it expect him to do?

Then, like a light turning on in his brain, it made sense. When the creature pushed the fish at him once again, this time Levi did not move away. He stared at the fish, wondering to himself if it he was seriously considering doing this. Was it really worth it? Really?

He accepted the fish and, after taking a long gulp of air, opened his mouth to let his rebreather fall from his lips. It sank slowly down to the bottom of the tank where it clunked harmlessly to the floor. Then, before he could reconsider, be lifted the fish to his mouth instead and bit into it. He tore a small piece of it off with his teeth and chewed it. He wanted to spit it out as soon as he tasted the raw, salty flesh, but he forced himself to keep chewing.

The merman watched him with a slightly surprised expression but made no move to stop him. Instead it waited as Levi chewed the fish and finally swallowed it, along with the bile that was threatening to escape his throat. Levi then held the fish—now with a small piece missing—back out to the creature.

Instead of taking it, however, the merman reached out to Levi's face. Levi's instinct was the shrink back and maintain as much distance between his exposed skin and the creature's claws as possible, but it was too quick. It took Levi's face in its hands and started poking him, not roughly, but inquiringly. Its fingers pressed into his cheeks, along his jaw, then against his neck. Finally, it thrust its fingers against Levi's mouth, its claws trying to squirm between his lips.

Levi made the unwise move of instinctually opening his mouth to protest, but as soon as his lips parted the merman's probing fingers were inside. Levi coughed as he felt the bizarre sensation of slick fingers exploring the insides of his cheeks, the roof of his mouth, and even his tongue.

He grasped the creature's arms with his hands and pulled its fingers from his mouth, kicking backwards and trying not to swallow anymore saltwater. He swam down and retrieved his rebreather, closing his mouth around it and sucking in air in between coughs. _What the actual fuck?_ His mind whirled as he looked up to where the merman was still floating. It was watching him with an unreadable expression, its own lips a contemplative line.

Then, just as suddenly as if a dam had burst, it darted out, snatched the fish from where Levi had left it floating, and devoured it. Claws and sharp teeth tearing into the meat like a truly starving animal, it consumed the fish so fast it was a wonder that it didn't choke. Leaving nothing behind but the bones, the merman sucked on each of its fingers and snuck a glance back at Levi, looking sourly abashed.

Captain Levi was unamused. _Don't look at me like that, you little shit. That wasn't so fucking hard, was it?_


End file.
